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EP-4735765-A1 - IMPROVEMENTS RELATING TO WIND TURBINE NACELLES

EP4735765A1EP 4735765 A1EP4735765 A1EP 4735765A1EP-4735765-A1

Abstract

A wind turbine nacelle having a base frame comprising a nacelle mounting ring including a mounting face adapted to be mountable to a wind turbine tower. The nacelle mounting ring has an open central aperture that, in use, conjoins an interior volume of the nacelle and an interior volume of the tower, wherein the mounting face defines a mounting plane. The wind turbine nacelle includes at least one electrical cabinet that is movably coupled, either directly or indirectly, to the base frame at a coupling point or, more simply, 'coupling', to move between a first and a second position. The coupling point is located within a cylindrical volume defined by and concentric with a diameter of the nacelle mounting ring, and which extends upwards from the mounting plane by a perpendicular distance corresponding to 80% of the diameter of the nacelle mounting ring and which extends downwards from the mounting plane by a perpendicular distance corresponding to 20% of the diameter of the nacelle mounting ring.

Inventors

  • SØGAARD, Morten Bagger
  • BAKI, Yucel
  • PACHECO, Guilherme
  • THACHANAMOORTHY, Omprakash

Assignees

  • VESTAS WIND SYSTEMS A/S

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20240524

Claims (16)

  1. 1. A wind turbine nacelle (14) having a base frame (28), the base frame (28) comprising a nacelle mounting ring (29) having a mounting face (29a) adapted to be mountable to a wind turbine tower (12) the nacelle mounting ring (29) having an open central aperture (36) that, in use, conjoins an interior volume (38) of the nacelle (14) with an interior volume (40) of the tower (12), wherein the mounting face (29a) defines a mounting plane (31); wherein the nacelle (14) includes at least one electrical cabinet (46) that is movably coupled, either directly or indirectly, to the base frame (28) at a coupling point (52) to move between a first and a second position; wherein the coupling point (52) is located within a cylindrical volume (64) defined by and concentric with an outer diameter of the nacelle mounting ring (29), and which extends upwards from the mounting plane (31) by a perpendicular distance corresponding to 80% of the outer diameter of the nacelle mounting ring (29) and which extends downwards from the mounting plane (31) by a perpendicular distance corresponding to 20% of the outer diameter of the nacelle mounting ring (29).
  2. 2. The wind turbine nacelle of Claim 1 , wherein in the first position, the at least one electrical cabinet (46) is located above the mounting plane (31).
  3. 3. The wind turbine nacelle of any preceding claim, wherein in moving to the second position the at least one electrical cabinet (46) moves through the central aperture (36) such that at least a portion of the at least one electrical cabinet (46) is located below the mounting plane (31).
  4. 4. The wind turbine nacelle of any preceding claim, wherein at least one electrical cabinet (46) is coupled, either directly or indirectly, to the base frame (28) at the coupling point (52) by a hinge.
  5. 5. The wind turbine nacelle of any preceding claim, wherein the at least one electrical cabinet (46) relates to a wind turbine yaw system (24).
  6. 6. The wind turbine nacelle of any preceding claim including a plurality of electrical cabinets (46) that are movably coupled, either directly or indirectly, to the base frame (28) at respective coupling points (52).
  7. 7. The wind turbine nacelle of Claim 6, wherein the plurality of electrical cabinets (46) is spaced circumferentially about the central aperture (36) of the nacelle mounting ring (29).
  8. 8. The wind turbine nacelle of Claim 6 or Claim 7, wherein the plurality of electrical cabinets (46) is arranged such that, when at least one of the movably coupled electrical cabinets (46) is in the second position, an access space is defined between the plurality of movably coupled electrical cabinets (46) and through the central aperture (36).
  9. 9. The wind turbine nacelle of any preceding claim, wherein the base frame (28) comprises a hollow interior space (58), and wherein the coupling point (52) is adapted such that the at least one electrical cabinet (46) is movable within the hollow interior space (58).
  10. 10. The wind turbine nacelle of any preceding claim, wherein the outer diameter of the nacelle mounting ring (29) is greater than 2 meters, optionally greater than 4 meters.
  11. 11. The wind turbine nacelle of any preceding claim, wherein the at least one electrical cabinet (46) remains operatively coupled to an electrical system within the nacelle (14) during movement of the electrical cabinet (46).
  12. 12. The wind turbine nacelle of any preceding claim, wherein the coupling point (52) is located on a radially inner surface of the base frame (28) or a main bearing housing (56) associated with the base frame (28).
  13. 13. The wind turbine nacelle of any preceding claim, wherein the cylindrical volume (64) extends from the mounting plane (31) and upwards therefrom by a perpendicular distance corresponding to 50% of the diameter of the nacelle mounting ring (29) and does not extend below the mounting plane (31).
  14. 14. A wind turbine (10) comprising a wind turbine nacelle (14) in accordance with any of the preceding claims.
  15. 15. A method of installing a nacelle (14) according to any one of Claims 1 to 12 on a wind turbine tower (12), in which the method comprises: transporting the nacelle (14) to the tower (12) in a transport condition, wherein in the transport condition the at least one movably coupled electrical cabinet (46) is in the first position (A); assembling the nacelle on the wind turbine tower; and moving the at least one movably coupled electrical cabinet (46) from the first position (A) to the second position (B).
  16. 16. A method according to Claim 15, wherein in moving from the first position (A) to the second position (B), the movably coupled electrical cabinet (46) moves at least partially through the open central aperture (36) of the base frame 28.

Description

IMPROVEMENTS RELATING TO WIND TURBINE NACELLES Technical Field The examples of the invention relate to a wind turbine nacelle that may be configured more conveniently for transport and use. Background to the Invention A typical Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine (HAWT) comprises a tower, a nacelle on top of the tower, a rotor hub mounted to the nacelle and a plurality of wind turbine rotor blades coupled to the rotor hub. Depending on the direction of the wind, the nacelle and rotor blades are turned and directed into an optimal direction by a yaw system for rotating the nacelle and a pitch system for rotating the blades. The nacelle houses many functional components of the wind turbine, including a main rotor shaft and one or more electrical generators, as well as convertor equipment for converting the mechanical energy at the rotor into electrical energy for provision to the grid. Additionally, the nacelle houses various control units to support the various subsystems of the wind turbine, for example, a yaw system. Generally, it is desirable to limit the overall size of a nacelle to benefit operation, shipping and handling. However, the increasing complexity of wind turbine systems means that wind turbine nacelles are required to accommodate a growing number of system components which compromises the space available within the nacelle. It is therefore desirable to arrange components within the nacelle as space-efficiently as possible. It is against this background that the present invention has been devised. Summary of the Invention According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a wind turbine nacelle. The wind turbine nacelle has a base frame comprising a nacelle mounting ring having a mounting face adapted to be mountable to a wind turbine tower, the nacelle mounting ring having an open central aperture that, in use, conjoins an interior volume of the nacelle and an interior volume of the tower, wherein the mounting face defines a mounting plane. The wind turbine nacelle includes at least one electrical cabinet that is movably coupled, either directly or indirectly, to the base frame at a coupling point or, more simply, ‘coupling’, to move between a first and a second position. The coupling point is located within a cylindrical volume defined by and concentric with an outer diameter of the nacelle mounting ring, and which extends upwards from the mounting plane by a perpendicular distance corresponding to 80% of the outer diameter of the nacelle mounting ring and which extends downwards from the mounting plane by a perpendicular distance corresponding to 20% of the outer diameter of the nacelle mounting ring. In the first position, the at least one electrical cabinet may be located above the mounting plane. Furthermore, in moving to the second position, the at least one electrical cabinet may move through the central aperture such that at least a portion of the at least one electrical cabinet is located below the mounting plane. In an example, the at least one electrical cabinet may be located entirely beneath the mounting plane when in the second position. Beneficially, this design allows utilisation of space within the nacelle that is otherwise unusable during operation. For example, by temporarily packaging the at least one electrical cabinet inside the nacelle volume during transport, the nacelle can be placed on a ship or a trailer without risk of damage to the electrical cabinets. Upon installation of the nacelle on the wind turbine tower, the electrical cabinets are moved to the second position that is compatible with operation and may utilise space within the tower that is otherwise unused. By using pre-existing space within the wind turbine in this manner, the interior volume requirements of the nacelle are reduced. Further, as a nacelle undergoes testing at the factory where it is produced, all systems and components must be present in the nacelle before it leaves the factory. Furthermore, it is undesirable for any components or systems to be disassembled or disconnected from the nacelle after testing as this may invalidate the system test results. Positioning electrical cabinets close to the mounting features of the nacelle on the tower presents an issue of access to the various fasteners and features required to attach the nacelle to the tower. By movably coupling these electrical cabinets, they can be moved to allow operators access to complete any required assembly works before being moved back into position after the works have been completed. Therefore, it is an object of the invention to provide a means of movably coupling components within the nacelle that supports transport and assembly of the nacelle to the wind turbine tower. The at least one electrical cabinet may be coupled, either directly or indirectly to the base frame at the coupling point by a hinge. In an alternative example, the electrical cabinet is movable to translate along a predefined linear path between